(D) The latest research suggests a more prosaic, democratic, even puritanical view of the

(D)

Thelatestr esearchsuggestsamoreprosaic,democratic,evenpuritanicalviewoftheworld.Thekeyfactorseparatinggeniusesfromthemerelyaccomplishedisnotadivinespark.It’snotI.Q.,agenerallybadpredictorofsuccess,eveninrealmslikechess.Instead,it’sdeliberatepractice.Topperformersspendmorehours(manymorehours)rigorouslypracticingtheircraft.Ifyouwantedtopicturehowatypicalgeniusmightd evelop,you’dtakeagirlwhopossessedaslightlyaboveaverageverbalability.Itwouldn’thavetobeabigtalent,justenoughsothatshemightgainsomesenseofdistinction.Thenyouwouldwanthertomeet,say,anovelist,whocoincidentallysharedsomesimilarbiographicaltr aits.Maybethewriterwasfromthesametown,hadthesameethnicbackground,or,sharedthesamebirthday.

Thiscontactwouldgivethegirlavisionofherfutureself.Itwouldgivehersomeideaofafascinatingcircleshemightsomedayjoin.Itwouldalsohelpifoneofherparentsdiedwhenshewas12,givingherastr ongsenseofinsecurityandfuelingadesperateneedforsuccess.Armedwiththisambition,shewouldreadnovelsandlifestoriesofwriterswithoutend.Thiswouldgiveheraprimaryknowledgeofherfield.She’dbeabletoseenewwritingindeeperwaysandquicklyperceiveitsinnerworkings.

Thenshewouldpracticewriting.Herpracticewouldbeslow,painstakinganderror-focused.Bypracticinginthisway,shedelaystheautomatizingprocess.Hermindwantstoturnconscious,newlylearnedskillsintounconscious,automaticallyperformedskills.Bypracticingslowly,bybreakingskillsdownintotinypartsandrepeating,sheforcesthebraintointernalizeabetterpatternofperformance.Thenshewouldfindanadviserwhowouldprovideaconstantstr eamoffeedback,viewingherperformancefromtheoutside,correctingthesmallesterrors,pushinghertotakeontougherchallenges.Bynowsheisredoingproblems—howdoIgetcharactersintoaroom—dozensanddozensoftimes.Sheisestablishinghabitsofthoughtshecancalluponinordertounderstandorsolvefutureproblems.

Theprimarytr aitshepossessesisnotsomemysteriousgenius.It’stheabilitytodevelopapurposeful,laboriousandboringpracticeroutine.Thelatestr esearchtakessomeofthemagicoutofgreatachievement.Butitunderlinesafactthatisoftenneglected.Publicdiscussionisaffectedbygeneticsandwhatwe’re“hard-wired”todo.Andit’str uethatgenesplayaroleinourcapabilities.Butthebrainisalsoveryplastic.Weconstr uctourselvesthroughbehavior.

76.Thepassagemainlydealswith_____.

A.thefunctionofI.Q.incultivatingawriterB.therelationshipbetweengeniusandsuccess

C.thedecisivefactorinmakingageniusD.thewayofgainingsomesenseofdistinction